Saturday, February 03, 2007

A group of seven talented and feisty women artists who have exhibited extensively in Southern California and across the nation will present their artwork in their first show together in the SCWCA Atrium Gallery at The Brewery, 2100 North Main Street, #A-5, Los Angeles, CA 90031. The exhibit is entitled, “Top Drawer,” and includes some of the artists’best work in a variety of media. Show dates: March 3 through March 31, 2007.Opening Reception: March 3 from 3 to 6 p.m. Closing, with artists’ talks: March 31 from 1 to 3 p.m. Participating artists: Yvonne Beatty, Linda Carlson, Diane Destiny, Cynthia Friedlob, Rose Hughes, Katherine Kean, Cindy Rinne.

LOS ANGELES –February 4, 2007 –This year, in honor of a number of important events that took place in the women’s art movement during the 1970s, many galleries and museums across the country will be featuring artwork created by women. The Los Angeles scene will be particularly active from February through June, with numerous gallery shows and historically significant exhibits at the Municipal Art Gallery and at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. But one unique, small gallery plans to join the celebration with the inaugural group show created by The Ladies’ Fluff & Fold Society. The show’s title, “Top Drawer,” refers to the top drawer of just about any woman’s bedroom dresser, the place where she keeps her very finest personal possessions. In this case, those fine possessions are favorite works of art by the seven talented Society members, Yvonne Beatty, Linda Carlson, Diane Destiny, Cynthia Friedlob, Rose Hughes, Katherine Kean and Cindy Rinne.The Society’s artists, affectionately known within the group as “Fluffettes,” obviously have a sense of humor, but they also have extensive art exhibition credits. Members have shown their award-winning work all over the Southern California region and throughout the nation. In addition, several of the women have substantial teaching experience in their chosen media. Those media are also quite varied: sculpture, fabric art, quilting, painting, drawing, mixed media assemblages, collage, hand-colored photography and installation pieces have been created by the artists in this diverse group.

But “The Ladies’ Fluff & Fold Society?” How did they get together and where did they come up with that unusual name? It all began with each artist’s membership and active participation in the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art, the well-respected local chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, the leading national organization for women actively engaged in the visual arts professions and an affiliate of the College Art Association.One afternoon last year, the women spent an enjoyable and busy few hours sitting around a table in the SCWCA office, stuffing envelopes in support of a gallery project designed to celebrate Southern California women artists. Conversation had turned to the topic of how frequently women have gathered in small groups that had been relegated to such mundane tasks and how often those mundane tasks were what kept the larger efforts of the community running smoothly. One member commented that the efficient, assembly-line system they were using for envelope stuffing was similar to folding laundry. This amusing analogy prompted the group to come up with an appropriate name for itself. As a lighthearted tribute to those many truly useful and often politically significant women’s societies throughout history, “The Ladies’ Fluff & Fold Society” was born.For a group of working artists, an art show was the next logical step. The newly dubbed SCWCA Atrium Gallery at The Brewery in downtown Los Angeles was the perfect venue, so the group approached the SCWCA Board with a proposal for an exhibition. The Board enthusiastically approved their idea and preparations began for a show that would occur at the height of the 2007 activities devoted to art by women.The Ladies’ Fluff & Fold Society was named with a tip of the hat to the traditional women’s helpful groups, but this modern gathering will up-date that tradition with a collaborative show that’s a tribute to today’s women artists and all that they have to offer the contemporary art world.Works in the varied media favored by Society members will be on display at the SCWCA Atrium Gallery, The Brewery, 2100 North Main Street, #A-5, Los Angeles, CA, 90031, during the entire month of March. The public is invited to enjoy the opening reception on Saturday, March 3, from 3 to 6 p.m. and the closing on Saturday, March 31, from 1 to 3 p.m., which will feature brief comments from the artists about their work. The gallery also will be open on each of the interim Saturdays in March from 12 to 4 p.m. and by appointment. Please contact TopDrawer@SCWCA.org for further information.# # #About Southern California Women's Caucus for ArtThe Southern California Women's Caucus for Art (SCWCA) is one of 33 chapters of the Women's Caucus for Art, the leading national organization for women actively engaged in the visual arts professions and an affiliated society of the College Art Association. Founded in 1976, SCWCA is dedicated to the cultural, aesthetic, and economic value of art by women. It offers programs, workshops, exhibitions, and recognition opportunities to women arts professionals in Southern California.

Fine Art Greeting Cards

Books:

From San Diego to Vancouver, 100 Artists of the West Coast II covers 100 artists with over 400 full color photographs of their work. The collection includes art from private as well as public collections and installations, including the collections of LACMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art New York, and the New York Public Library to name just a few. I'm happy to be included.